Machine for reopening bottle-seals.



No. 634,14l2. Patented Oct. 3, I899. T. J. HENDERSON. MACHINE FOB REOPENING BOTTLE SEALS.

(Application filed Dec. 27, 1898.) (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet No. 634,442. Patented Oct. 3, I899.

- T. J. HENDERSON.

MACHINE FOR BEOPENING BOTTLE SEALS.

(Application filed Dec. 27, 1898.) (No Model.)

2 Sheets-8heet 2 5( I l I l I Willi-Ill UNITED STATES PATENT OFF E.

THOMAS J. HENDERSON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONF-IIALF TO CHRISTIAN GROSS, OF SAME PLACE;

MACHINE FOR RE OPENING BOTTLE-SEALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,412, dated October 3, 1899.

Application filed December 27, 1898. Serial No. 700,424. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: is in horizontal alinement with the top sur- Be it known that I, THOMAS J. HENDERSON, face of the table 2. of the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have Rigidly seated on top of the front of the invented certain new and useful Improveframe 1 is a frame 11, in the upper portion of 5 ments in Machines for Reopening Bottlewhich frame is formed a pair of vertically- Seals, of which the following is a full, clear, arranged guideways or bearings 12, in which and exact description, reference being had to is arranged for vertical movement a rectanthe accompanying drawings, forming a part gular block 13, the same being provided with hereof. I a rectangular opening 14. The front of the IO My invention relates to machines for reupper end of this frame 11 is closed by a recopening bottle-seals; and it consists of the tangular plate 15, and projecting downwardly novel construction,combination, and arrangefrom a horizontal bar formed in the center of ment of parts hereinafter described and said frame is a stem 16, through which operclaimed. ates a plunger 17, that is formed integral with 15 Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved a rectangular block 13. This plunger 17 is machine. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof. the male member of the die of my improved Fig. 3 is an elevation of the side of the mamachine, and formed in said plunger is a verchine opposite from the side seen in Fig. 1, tical bore or passage 18, that communicates and a portion of said, machine being in secwith an inlet-port 19, formed in the stem 16,

20 tion to more clearly illustrate the same. Fig. to which inlet-port 19 leads a flexible tubular 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken connection 20, suitable for conveying a blast approximately on the line 1 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. of steam or air. 5 is a plan view of a combined carrier and Formed integral with the rear side of the 7: sprocket-chain made use of in my improved upper portion of the frame 15 isa bearing 21,

25 machine. Fig. 6' is a sectional view taken and rigidly seated upon the top of the rear approximately on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. end of the frame 1 is a vertically-arranged 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken frame 22, in the upperend of which are formed approximately on the line 7 7 of Fig. Fig. the bearings 23, that are in alinement with 8 is a side elevation of the sprocket-wheel at said bearings 21. A shaft 24: is rotatably ar- 0 the rear end of the machine. Fig. 9 is an ranged in these alined bearings, the forward edge view of said sprocket-wheel. end of said shaft being provided with an ec- In the construction of my improved macentric 25, that operates within the opening chine I make use of a rectangular frame 1,0n 14. in the block 13. Rigidly fixed upon the top of which is located a flat table 2, which shaft 24, adjacent the rear end thereof and 3 5 table projects a slight distance in front of the in vertical alinement with the sprocket-wheel frame, and in the center of said table is formed 5 previously mentioned, is a sprocket-wheel an opening 3-. Extending longitudinally 26, said sprocket-wheels being connected by throughout the lower portion of the frame a sprocket-chain 27, and integral with the and arranged for rotation in suitable bearhub of this sprocket-wheel 26 is a disk 28, on

40 ings is a shaft 4, upon which is located a the face of which is formed a pair of concensmall sprocket-wheel 5 and a large fly-wheel 6. trio eccentrics 29 and 30. The inner eccen- Extending longitudinally throughout the trio 29 is provided with a high face 31 and a frame immediately beneath the table 2 and low face 32, the offset between said faces be- 5 arranged for rotation in suitable bearings is ing very sharp in order to impart a quick 5 a shaft 7, on which is located a belt-wheel 8 motion to the roller operating upon said ecin vertical alinement with the fly-wheel (i, centric, while the larger eccentric 30 is prothere being a belt 9 connecting said beltvided with a high face and a low face 34:, wheel 8 with said fiy-wheel, and arranged the offset between said faces being very gradupon said shaft 7 adjacent to this belt-wheel ual, so as to give a slow movement to the 50 is a polishing-wheel 10, the same extending roller operatingon said face.

upwardly through the opening 3 in the table Bolted to the transversely-arrange'd bar on 2. The path of travel of this polishing-wheel the front of the frame of the machine are the forwardly-prejecting brackets 35, in the outer ends of which are formed alined bearings 36, in which is rotatably arranged a shaft 37. Rigidly fixed upon said shaft between said bearings is a sprocket-wheel 38, the teeth of said sprocket-wheel being perfectly round and very short.

Bolted to a bar at the rearend of the frame 1 are the rearwardly-projecting brackets 39, in the rear ends of which are formed alined bearings 40, in which is rotatably arranged a shaft41. Upon said shaftet-lislooselymounted a sprocket-wheel 42, identical in size and construction with the sprocket-wheel 38, and fixed to said sprocket-wheel 42 is a ratchet wheel 43 An arm 44 is rotatably arranged upon the shaft 41 adjacent the ratchet-wheel 43, which arm carries a gravity-pawl 45, the point of which engages the teeth of said ratchet-wheel.

Bolted to the rear side of the frame 11 and projecting rearwardly therefrom is a bracket 46, on the outside of which is fulcrumed an arm 47, the upper end of which carries a roller 48, that rides directly upon the outer eccentric 30. A connecting-rod 49 connects the upper end of the arm 44 with the lower end of said arm 47, and a retractile coil-spring 50 is secured to the lower end of said arm 47, the opposite end of said spring being secured to the bracket 46, and said spring normally holds the roller 48 against the surface of the eccentric 36. An arm 51 is fulcrumed upon the opposite side of the outer end of the bracket 46, the upper end of said arm 51 carrying a roller 52, that rides upon the eccentric 29, the lower end of said arm 51 projecting downwardly through the opening 3 in the table 2.

A friction-sleeve 52 is arranged upon the shaft 41 on the opposite side of the sprocketwheel 42 from the ratchet-wheel 43, in which sleeve is formed a segmental slot 53, there being a lug or feather 54 fixed upon the shaft 41, which operates in said slot. An expansive coil-spring 55 is arranged around the shaft 41 adjacent to the sleeve 52, the forward end of said spring bearing against the rear side of the friction-sleeve, and. the rear end of said spring is fixed to the shaft 41. The normal tendency of this spring is to force the friction-sleeve against the face of the sprocket-wheel and also to throw the sprocket-wheel 42 rearwardly a slight distance upon the shaft 41 or until the lug or feather 54 occupies the forward end of the slot 53.

Seated in the table 2 immediately beneath the stem 16 is a bushing 56, in which is arrangedforoperationavertically-movingplunger 57, which performs the function of a female die that acts in conjunction with the plunger 17, said plunger 57 being provided with a stem 58, that projects downwardly through the bushing 56, and formed in said plunger 57 is a vertical passage 59, the same discharging outwardly through the stem Fulcrumcd to the cross-bar in the front of the frame of the machine is a bell-crank 60, the outer end of the horizontal arm of which engages the under side of the stem 58, the lower end of the vertical portion of which bell-crank is connected to the forward end of the connecting-rod 61, the rear end of which is pivotally connected to the lower end of the arm 51. A retractile coil-spring 62 has one end secured to the frame of the machine, the opposite end being secured to said connecting-rod 61, and the action of said coilspring 62 retains the roller 52, carried by the upper end of the arm 51, against the eccentric 30.

The sprocket-chain that travels longitudin ally over the center of the table 2 and around the sprocket-wheels 38 and 42 is constructed so as to receive and. carry the bottle-seals between the vertically-moving plungers or dies, after which they are carried over the polish ing-wheel and from thence to the rear of the machine, where they are pushed out of the chain by the teeth of the sprocket-Wheel 42. This chain is composed of a plurality of flat metallic links 63, each one of which is provided at one end with a transverse slot 64 and at its opposite end with an upwardlyprojecting hook 65, which engages in the slot 64 of the succeeding link. Formed in the center of each link 63 is a circular aperture 66, the same being slightly smaller than is the flange of the bottle-seal, and segmental recess 67 is formed in each link, the diameter of which recess is slightly less than the diameter of the body portion of the seal, and said recess communicates with and is a part of the aperture 66.

In some instances it may be found necessary to hinge a spring-actuated arm to the rear side of the stem 16, which arm extends rearwardly a slight distance to a point directly over the polishing-wheel 10, and upon the outer end of said arm is rotatably arranged a rubber-faced roller. This construction is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and is for the purpose of retaining the opened seals in the apertures 66 while they are being polished by the wheel 10.

The operation of my improved machine is as follows: As the shaft 4 is driven rotary motion is transmitted to the shafts 7 and 24 by the belt 9 and sprocket-chain 27, and owing to the difference in size of the belt-wheels 6 and 8 said shaft 7, and consequently the polishing-wheel 10, will be driven at a high rate of speed. As the shaft 24 rotates, the disk 28, having the eccentrics 2t) and 30 formed on its face, will necessarily rotate, and the up per ends of the arms 47 and 51 will move outwardlyand inwardlyas the rollers carried by said arms travel upon the eccentric-faces. As the upper end of the arm 47 is moved forwardly by the higher portion 33 of the cocentric 30 the lower end of said arm will be moved rearwardly, thus actuating the arm 44 and causing the point of the pawl 45, carried by said arm, to engage one-of the teeth of" the ratchet-wheel 43 and move said ratchet-wheel a slight distance in rotation. As said ratchetwheel is fixed to the sprocket-wheel 42, said sprocket-wheel 42 will be partially rotated, which partial rotation will cause the combined chain and carrier traveling over said sprocketwheel to move a short distance. The eccentric 30, together with the arms 47 and 44 and connecting-rod 49, is so constructed as that at each movement or actuation the chain is moved rearwardly the length of one link at a time, and the various parts just mentioned are so arranged as that the aperture 66 of each link is brought to a point immediately between the plungers 17 and 57, forming the die. Thus with the continued rotation of the shaft 24 the chain is moved intermittently around the sprocket-wheels 3S and 42. A very slight return movement or backlash for the combined chain and carrier is provided by the mechanism seen in Figs. 8 and 9. hen the arm 44 is actuated to'partially rotatc the sprocketwheel 42, said sprocketwheel partially rotates upon the shaft-41, and as it does so the friction-sleeve 52 travels with said sprocket-wheel the length of the slot 53, and then said sprocket-wheel 42 travels the balance of its stroke byitself and in so doing overcomes the resistance of the friction offered by the sleeve 52. \Vhen said sprocketwheel 42 has moved its distance, the frictionsleeve 52, engaging against the face of said sprocket-wheel and actuated by the torsional strain of the coil-spring 55, will move said sprocket-wheel rearwardly the distance of the slot 53 or until the lug or feather 54 engages against the end of said slot 53. Thus the chain is moved a slight distance rearwardly, this action being repeated with every stroke of the arm 44. This backlash is for the purpose of taking the strain of the carrier and chain off from the sprocket-wheels, and said backlash also serves to bring the aperture 66 in the link 63 immediately beneath the plunger 17. The motion of the chain and carrier is intermittent, and every time said chain and carrier stops one of the links is directly between the two plungers forming the die and another one of said links carrying one of the opened bottle-seals stops directly above the polishingwheel 10, and as said polishingwheel is rotating at a high rate of speed the top of said seal is polished.

The face of the eccentric 29 is so arranged as that the arm 51 is actuated so as to oper ate the bell-crank to throw theplunger 57 upwardly at the time one of the links of the chain containing one of the unopened bottlesealsstops immediately above said plunger 57, and at the same time the eccentric 25, carried by the shaft 24, moves the rectangular block 13 downwardly in the guideways 12, thus moving the plunger 17 downwardly, and the unopened seal that is carried by the link between said plungers is engaged between the meeting ends of said plungers, and the orimped edge of said unopened seal is bent outwardly. With the return movement of the plungers 17 and 57 the chain and carrier are moved forward the length of one link, as previously described, and the succeedinglink containing an unopened bottle-seal is broughtinto position between the plungers of the die to be engaged between the meeting ends of said plungers at their next movement. As the chain moves across the table 2 the open seals are drawn into the recesses 67 in the links 63, and said open seals are finally pushed out of the links by the teeth of the sprocket-wheel 42.

The unopened bottle-seals are placed by the operator in the apertures 66 upon the ex tending portion of the table 2 with the cork disks in said seals upwardly, and said cork disks are cleansed and softened by the action 7 of a steam-jet which is introduced through the plunger 17 by means of the flexible connection 20 and inlet-port 19.

Any particles of dust or dirt that might adhere to the under side ofthe seal will pass downwardly through the passage or bore 59 in the plunger 57 and will not clog up the aperture in which said plunger operates.

A machine of my improved construction is simple, automatic in all its workings, and

very efficiently and rapidly opens the crown bottle-seals now in general use.

I claim- 1. In a machine for reopening bottle-seals, a suitable frame, a table in the top of said frame, a pair of vertically-operating alined plungers, in which plungers are formed vertical bores, a suitable steam connection discharging into the bore in the upper plunger, means whereby said plungersare simultaneously moved toward one another, an endless carrier operating over the table and between said plungers, the links of which carrier are adapted to receive and retain bottle-seals, and means whereby said chain is intermittently moved across said table, substantially,

as specified.

2. In a machine for reopening bottle-seals, a seal-carrying chain comprising a plurality of links, in the centers of which links are formed circular apertures, there being recesses formed in the bodies of said links which communicate with said centrally-arranged apertures, and integral hooks formed at one end of each of said links, which hooks engage in apertures formed in the opposite ends of said links, substantially as specified.

' A machine for reopening bottle-seals, constructed with a pair of vertically-moving plungers, in the upper one of which plungers is formed a bore for the passage of steam and there being a vertically-arranged bore formed table, a bushing arranged at one end of: the lable, a stem arranged immediately above said bushing, vertically-mowing plungers o1. crating through said stem and bushing, means whereby said plungers are simultaneously moved toward one another, a sprocketwheel journaled at each end of the frame, an endless seal-carrying chain passing around said sprocket-wheels over the table between the plunge-rs, means whereby said seal-earrying chain is intermittently actuated, means whereby the longitudinally-extending shaft is rotated, and a polish-ing whecl carried by said shaft, the periphery of which polishing; wheel engages the under sides of the links composing the endless carrier, substantially j as specified.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature I in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS J. HENDERSON.

\Vitnesses:

M. P. SMITH, A. J. MCOAULEY. 

